Clocktower Ticking
by The Uninspired
Summary: They all have secrets. A look in the thoughts of the characters on the events of Mr. Yin Presents. Spoilers for the entire Yin/Yang trilogy.


Her secret?

She's glad Carlton was the one to save her from the clock tower.

She didn't want Shawn seeing her like that. He was used to seeing her as Detective Juliet O'Hara, strong and brave. Strapped to that chair overlooking what must've been the most beautiful city in the world made her seriously doubt herself. She always told herself that she'd always retain her sanity, even as a detective. And as she watched the cars drive by beneath her, not even noticing her life was literally hanging by a wire, she realized why Carlton always wanted to be the one to interrogate the suspects, to drive to crime scenes, to arrest the culprit.

He wanted to protect her.

Listening to all those sob stories and taking it to heart could certainly break down a person, especially one like her. It was initially his pride that kept him from letting her do anything remotely dangerous, and his overwhelming need to show off, but as they got to respect each other...

Suddenly, she felt bad about every time she snapped at him, or they got into a pointless argument. She closed her eyes and tried to keep calm. The detective part of her mind was hushing the panicking part, and common sense just had to sit and wait.

And Carlton and Gus were the ones to save her. Of course, Shawn had gone for Abigail...And she had expected that, but it crushed her inside. She couldn't have had a complete emotional breakdown into Shawn's arms if he had been the one to rescue her. If he had, she would have had to store all her emotions so she didn't look like a wreck in front of him, because she's just like Yang and she _wants_ Shawn to like her. She would go and find Carlton, who was just doing his job even if it destroyed him emotionally, and they would sit in understanding silence until he would say "It's okay to cry", and she would, so much, because Shawn will never love her. It seemed like either way, she would've ended up sobbing into her partner's chest.

Her loyal partner.

* * *

His secret?

He can't believe Shawn sometimes.

They had been best friends since practically birth. He had gotten used to the antics and shenanigans that the pseudo-psychic pulled over the years, but occasionally it was just too much. Starting up a detective agency with both their names on the lease, without his permission? Fine, Gus always wanted to do this anyway. Stealing his snacks from his desk? He probably wasn't going to eat it all anyway. Using his credit cards? Well...that was a habit Gus could afford Shawn to kick.

But playing with Juliet's heart like that? Sometimes Gus wondered if Shawn really did have a soul.

The least he could do was send his best friend with her partner to go save her from apparently imminent death. And that's exactly what he did - the least, the bare minimum. Gus knew he was really struggling with this whole love triangle thing that the two girls aren't aware of, but Juliet is more than just the girl next door. They both know that. But watching his best friend treat someone and kind and gentle as Juliet with such disregard? Shawn could really be a jerk sometimes, and no matter how much he meant to him, Gus had to admit that to himself every now and then.

It was blatantly obvious that she felt something towards Shawn after three full years of knowing each other. Not being the first to volunteer to go to the clock tower was the biggest slap in the face that his friend could've given anyone.

His best friend.

* * *

Her secret?

She really thinks her head detective is the best she could get.

At first, he treated her like she was just some sort of common citizen, even though she was the chief. It was understandable, though - the outgoing chief was his mentor, a father figure to him. He was also going through a messy divorce. It was only natural he would be bitter, but she didn't expect someone of his age and experience to be so childish about it.

But slowly he began to warm up to her, just like he was warming up to O'Hara.

She knew it was him who reminded the mayor of her ultimatum of resignation. He was the only one in the department who dared to look her in the eye that also had connections to the mayor. He did it so subtly that she didn't even notice that he was happy about not getting his dream job. If there's one person who would be too proud to admit he did something nice for someone, if would be him.

For a while, she was surprised at his downright insubordinate move. Lassiter follows protocol to a T, especially in a situation like the Yin/Yang cases. Her detective showed that he not only grew as a person, but as a partner. He had overcome challenges that she wasn't sure she could've faced herself.

Her head detective.

* * *

His secret?

He loved being back on the force again.

He was getting his fair share of police work just helping his son with his cases for the Chief, but it didn't feel right. It wasn't official. It wasn't by the book. It was getting favors from old friends on the force, forcing his son to remember the lessons he had taught him as a child, making him follow up on old promises.

Saving Abigail was his excuse for getting back to what he loved, and getting paid for it.

In all honesty, he was shocked his son wasn't the first to offer to save Juliet. He had seen enough to know that she wasn't just _some girl_. But apparently Shawn had picked a life-or-death situation to become a gentlemen, and it was hardcore Detective Lassiter who kicked the rules in the teeth and went after his partner. It was shocking, really, but his son did all kinds of shocking things.

His only son.

* * *

His secret?

Even though he despises Spencer, he has to respect him as a detective.

Sure, he throws protocol to the wind. Sure, he breaks-and-enters all the time. Sure, he's 98% certain that Spencer is faking this whole psychic thing. And sure, he can't arrest him. But that man solves crimes, whether it comes visions or illegal activity that they can't prove. He's helped them on countless cases, even though he manages to be the single reason why he has gray hair on his head.

That being said, there's plenty that Lassiter can't stand about Spencer. Like how he treated his partner.

He was dating Abigail - _he was dating Abigail_ - and yet he still flirted with her like he wasn't. And it tore her down. It was painful to watch, as O'Hara is one of the strongest people he knows, along with the Chief. (Giving birth naturally with minimal screaming but also crushing his hand in the process? That takes _guts_.) It's the most ungentlemanly thing Lassiter thought a person could do.

But yet, he chose to save his girlfriend. Of course, Lassiter was going to save his partner regardless of who was coming with him or how bad his punishment was. The fact that Spencer wasn't going to rescue Juliet and instead send Guster was beyond the head detective's belief, and it only made him increasingly angry at the psychic.

He was left to pick up the pieces. The burning in his chest as his partner openly sobbed into his shirt wasn't the adrenaline getting back to him, it was pure, unbridled rage, like the feeling he got whenever Lauren came to him upset. He doesn't know when he came to think of his partner as his little sister figure, but it doesn't seem too out of place.

His incredibly strong partner.

* * *

His secret?

He's not a psychic, like he says he is. He's not book-smart, like Gus. He's not kind and loyal, like Juliet. He's not determined or dedicated, like Lassie. He's not organized, like his father. He's not firm, like the Chief. He's not helpful like Abigail or as sweet as his mother or stupid as his uncle Jack.

He's just super-observant. He's only street-smart, he's pretty rude when it comes down to it, he rarely ever follows through with anything, he's a slacker, he's wishy-washy, he's an obstruction to everything, and at most, he's charming.

He's not perfect, and he knows this.

He was torn between Juliet and Abigail - future wife or current girlfriend? When he looks at Juliet, he can only see marriage, children, growing old. When he looked at Abigail, he could only see that day, maybe that month, and nothing more. He knew Lassie would go for Juliet (he knows how close they are), but he knew the Chief would never allow her head detective to give the priority to a woman on the force.

His computations that he worked so hard on keeping straight in his mind were all destroyed in one phone call, and so he relied back on what his father and Gus would do: whoever you're committed to, they're your priority. But that didn't seem fair! Was Juliet's life worth anything less than Abigail's, simply because she's a cop and Abigail isn't? But Lassie ended that thought with a certain finality to it that only Head Detective Carlton Lassiter could, making his decision clear.

_Gus will save Juliet for me. Abigail is my own problem._

But no, Abigail's not a problem. She was his girlfriend...and would only be his girlfriend. Nothing more. He saved her anyway, and for what? To be dumped as soon as it was clear they were safe? Yin was still on the loose, his girlfriend had just left him, and the love of his life thought he hated her.

He had to remain strong, though. Because if there's one thing Shawn Spencer is, it's strong, even if it's not apparent. The only thing he could wonder was why it was so easy to ignore people you don't know, but so hard to be strong for the people you are about.

His entire world.

* * *

Her secret?

She never wanted to hurt anyone.

She liked playing the game, she liked Shawn, she liked Gus, she even liked the scarecrow of the head detective and his pretty blonde partner. But that was it. Killing people was just something on the side that her father - no, her _partner_ liked to do. She just liked being on a psychological level with people as sharp-witted as the Santa Barbara team.

She never killed a single person in her life, except for the person who gave her life.

Her own father.

* * *

**a/n;** probably the longest drabble i've written for anything, ever. I know this topic has been done to death, but I thought this was a pretty abstract take on it.

reviews? (:


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